i was thinking about a short pithy way to answer the "if youre so smart why arent you rich" meme as it is applied to rationalists

first, the primary vectors of spreading rationalism to people have been internet sites such as lesswrong, tumblr, or anywhere hpmor is hosted. strongly selecting for those who spend time reading shit on the internet. therefore rationalists are largely those who live inside their heads. and the second thing is that you can't just think your way to high social status, because that low hanging fruit has already been picked.